History of Dollar in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: March 25, 2026

The term 'dollar' refers to over 25 currencies worldwide, with the United States dollar, established in 1792 and inspired by the Spanish dollar, being the oldest surviving one. Many countries utilize the dollar as their official currency, including Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, and others. Most dollar currencies share the '$' symbol, which is also used by peso currencies.

1900: Value of silver dollars falls

By 1900, the value of silver dollars had fallen to 50 percent of gold dollars.

1906: Straits dollar adopts gold exchange standard

In 1906, the Straits dollar adopted a gold exchange standard after it had been forced to rise in value against other silver dollars in the region.

1931: Canada abandons gold standard

Following the abandonment of the gold standard by Canada in 1931, the Canadian dollar started to drift away from parity with the U.S. dollar.

1935: China and Hong Kong come off the silver standard

In 1935, China and Hong Kong came off the silver standard, with the Straits dollar worth 2s 4d sterling and the Hong Kong dollar worth 1s 3d sterling.

1944: Bretton Woods system agreed to

Since the end of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates that was agreed to in 1944, the Canadian dollar has been floating against the U.S. dollar.

1965: Silver removed from U.S. coinage

In 1965, silver was largely removed from U.S. coinage, and the dollar transitioned to a free-floating fiat currency, no longer backed by gold or silver.